The invention relates to folding machines and particularly to adaptors to make such machines suitable for use as punches.
A folding machine is described in U.K. Patent Specification No. 985,732 which comprises a pair of forming members mounted for pivotal movement in opposed directions about a common pivot axis from a rest position in which the upper surfaces of the forming members are co-planar to a folding position in which said upper surfaces are inclined to each other, and a holding tool located above said axis and moveable into contact with a sheet metal or other workpiece laid across the upper surfaces of the forming members in their rest position to provide a stationary fold guide during the folding operation.
It is also known to use a conventional press with a vertically moving horizontal platten for punching operations by inserting a punch and die set in the press and then operating the press which in turn operates the punch and die set. The folding machine described briefly above is not readily adaptable to punching operations because it does not have a vertically moveable horizontal platten. An object of the present invention is to adapt such a folding machine to make it suitable for use as a punch.